I've Been Loving You Too Long
by DCFanatic4life
Summary: An upcoming wedding has two people thinking...JerichoSteph...Epilogue added
1. I Do

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, they belong to themselves, and their gimmicks belong to Vince McMahon and WWE.Based aroundthe song "I Do" by Jude.

**To read the original version with song lyrics go to: bitter-solemnity. com /fics /IBLYTL.php (just get rid of the spaces).**

Distribution: If you want it, ASK. Don't just take it and post it somewhere.

Summary: Jericho thinks about his past with a certain someone, and an upcoming event.

A/N: This takes place over a span of time, I hope it doesn't confuse you, and if it does, I'm sorry. Oh, and please R/R. Thanks.

* * *

Jericho looked through his mail, and he came across a simple white envelope with his name printed on it in pretty calligraphy. He knew whatever it held would not be good news, at least not for him. He dreaded opening it, but finally gathering up his courage he tore the envelope and took out what looked like an invitation. A wedding invitation...HER wedding invitation. 

He took out the note included inside, it was in her handwriting. He could recognize it anywhere; he had been married to her for eight years after all. She was the mother of his children for goodness sakes.

The note asked how he was, and she knew he probably didn't want to attend her wedding, but she felt that she should at least send an invitation. There were also notes from his kids, Gwynn, his eldest daughter, telling him how she missed him, and what was going on in school, a picture Aurora, his younger daughter, had drawn of a flower, and a scribble picture his two and a half year old son Chris Jr. had drawn.

Jericho just sat there holding the invitation in his hand, reading it over and over again. So she was getting married. It had been a year and a half since they had gotten divorced, a year and a half since the love of his life had left him. Yes, he still loved her, still longed to be with her. Obviously she had moved on, moved on to a new life, and now a new husband.

He hadn't really seen her all that often since the divorce became finalized. She had practically left the wrestling business after the divorce, instead opting to become a full-time mother to their three kids, so the only time he saw her was when he went to pick up the kids, when he got to see them. And the fact that they lived almost 600 miles apart didn't help either.

Despite that, he desperately wanted to go to her, to tell her that he still loved her, to beg her to take him back. Why was it so hard for him to move on? Why was she still the first thing he thought of in the morning, and the last thing he thought of at night? He wanted to go to her, remind her of how great they used to be, how perfect they were together, how perfect they could still be.

No, he couldn't do that, he couldn't ruin things for her, and he loved her enough to let her go, let her be happy. And she obviously wasn't happy with him. She wanted this Brad character that she was going to marry, and him telling her that he still loved her probably wouldn't do any good. She would probably laugh in his face, turn around and walk away, again.

He had never stopped loving her, not once since their first real kiss what seemed so long ago. He remembered it so well, a vivid memory that he thought about often. It was after a SmackDown, he had found her toiling away hours after the show had ended, and upon closer inspection found out she had been crying for whatever reason, it had slipped his mind. He comforted her that night, and ended up kissing her, and it was like his world had suddenly filled with meaning. He felt like he had finally found that piece he was missing, a piece he hadn't even known was gone.

From then on he had loved her. And not a day went by that he didn't love her. He could be on his deathbed, and he knew that his final thought would be of her. He didn't know what had happened to their marriage, what had made them feel like they stopped loving each other. On the rare occasions that they saw each other, or spoke to each other, he could still sense something between them, love perhaps, he didn't know anymore. And it would do no good to tell her, that part of their life was over.

He couldn't go to the wedding, that was absolutely out of the question. To see her marrying another man would be torture for him. He might as well be dead than have to go through something like that. To see her professing her love to someone else, while he sat there, loving her that would be the worst possible thing he could imagine. To see her smiling face, loving eyes not directed at him, it was something he couldn't bear.

To see her so beautiful, and know that she didn't belong to him. He would never get to kiss her again, never get to touch her. There would be plenty of people there, she loved being the center of attention, it would be perfect for her, and there was no chance in hell he would ruin that for her. He wouldn't...he couldn't.

That was the least that he could do for her, to not go to the wedding. He knew if he went it could spell potential disaster. And the awkwardness would be too much to bear, not just for him, but for the both of them. If he went he knew that there would be people expecting something to happen. Kurt, to this day, insisted that they still loved each other. He couldn't get through a conversation with him, without Kurt bringing up the fact that he thought they should still be together.

He didn't want to ruin her big day, she deserved a nice wedding, and reception, and him being there would just make it worse for her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do to her. She wouldn't miss him anyways; she would be too wrapped up in her own happiness to realize her ex-husband was there. It was better that he didn't go.

As her wedding day drew closer, Jericho couldn't help but be flooded by thoughts of her. He remembered everything about her. The way she laughed at his stupid jokes, or the way she smiled at him across a crowded room, letting him know that she was thinking about him. The way her kisses felt on his lips.

He could remember their own wedding day, and how it had been the best day of his life. He remembered being so nervous standing up there, waiting for her to walk down the aisle. She had looked so beautiful that day, in an off-the-shoulder white gown; she looked like an angel, his angel. And they had pledged their love for one another, pledged to be together for the rest of their lives. Oh, how that had failed.

He wished that she were still with him, that they were still a family. They had had so many good times together, and he thought they had truly been happy. He didn't exactly know where things went wrong, all of a sudden she left, and their world, their home that they had built together had come crashing down, and he had been left to pick up the pieces. And she had moved on.

She had found someone better, someone she loved more. He really couldn't begrudge her for getting married again. They had been divorced for a year and a half, and he never expected her to be alone for the rest of her life. He guessed it hurt so much because of his inability to move on. Yeah, he had had a few short relationships since they broke up, but none of them ever felt right, and he always got this inexplicable feeling that he was cheating on her, despite the fact they weren't together. He wished he could move on, but something kept holding him back. He still wanted her, and needed her.

He hoped that she would be happy with her new life, happy with her new husband. Maybe he could give her what he couldn't. He thought that he had made her happy, but everything pointed to the contrary. She deserved to be happy. With all the crap that she had gone through with her father, and then with her first husband, she deserved happiness in her life. God knows that she never had it easy with the two of them, and maybe even with him. If this guy could make her happy, then maybe HE should be happy for the both of them.

He especially hoped that whoever this guy was that he was treating his kids well. He loved them more than life itself. They were his biggest joy in the world, and he loved them to distraction. They were a part of him, and a part of her, the best parts if you asked him.

They were wonderful kids too, and they had been so happy when they had them. They were so excited when they found out she was pregnant the first time, with their eldest daughter Gwynn. He could still remember the smile on her face when she got to hold her for the first time. Gwynn looked exactly like her mother, right down to the icy glare. Aurora, their younger daughter had her blue eyes, and his blonde hair. Then there was the baby, his only son, Christopher Keith Irvine Jr., the spitting image of his father. She may have done a lot of bad things in her day, but she was a wonderful mother.

He had to come to grips with the fact that they weren't a family anymore, and they never would be again. As each day came closer to her wedding day, reality began to wash over him. He accepted that she was getting married, and there was no hope that they would ever get back together. It was something he had to come to grips with.

Of course, he still dreamed of being with her, but that's all they were now...dreams.

The day he had been dreading finally came, and it started gray and cloudy, mirroring his current mood. He wondered what the weather was like in Greenwich, if it was anything like it was in Florida. No, he wouldn't try to think about any of that, it would only hurt that much more, and the last thing he needed today was to hurt more.

He didn't want to get out of bed, he just wanted to lie there, to go back to blissful dreams of him and her together, in dreams he could imagine all the things he wanted, and they would be his. His reality sucked, his reality had the love of his life marrying someone else. He wanted to crawl under his covers, and forget that his life ever existed; it was just easier that way.

He looked at the clock, and realized that right about now she was probably walking down the aisle, most likely on the arm of her father. He groaned, not wanting to think about that. The hurt cut through him like a knife, and he tried to fall back asleep.

Someone was ringing his doorbell, but he didn't really care, he couldn't care. He just wanted to stay there, whoever it was would eventually go away. Didn't they know that he just wanted to be left alone, that he wanted to be by himself today? He wanted to be left alone with his thoughts, but whomever it was at the door persisted.

He slowly got up from his bed, and made his way downstairs to the door. Whoever it was, they were still ringing the doorbell, and it was driving him nuts.

"Hold on! I'll be right there!" he yelled as he made his way to the front door, "What the hell-" his breath caught, and his sentence was stopped short as he opened the door and caught sight of who was in front of him.

He couldn't believe his eyes, fearing that he was seeing things, that the person standing in front of him was some sort of illusion, a figment of his imagination. He wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. But he knew he wasn't, she was really here.

"Stephanie."


	2. Souvenirs

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, they own themselves, and the gimmicks are property of Vince McMahon and WWE. Based around the song "Souvenirs" by Mary Beth.

**To read the original version with song lyrics go to: bitter-solemnity. com /fics /IBLYTL.php (just get rid of the spaces).**

Distribution: If you want it, ASK. Don't just take it and post it somewhere.

Summary: Stephanie contemplates her upcoming marriage, and comes to a decision. This takes place on the day of the wedding.

* * *

Stephanie woke up from a deep slumber, and looked out the window. It was cloudy and drizzling. Could the day get any worse? This was her wedding day, her third wedding day to be exact, but still it was supposed to be special, and it was raining. Why, today of all days, it wasn't like she didn't have enough on her mind.

And the dreams she had had the night before weren't any help either. She had dreamed of Jericho...again. This kept happening to her, she kept dreaming about him, her mind kept wandering towards thoughts about him. Last night, she had dreamed about their wedding day, and how happy they had been. How he had been all smiles, and how they had danced the night away at the reception. And later, well, later had been even more fun.

She had to stop thinking about him, he was her past, and Brad, well, he was her future. Today was her wedding day, damn it, and she was going to make the most of it, rain or not.

She got up from her bed, and walked over to her vanity. She appraised herself in the mirror, and to her dismay, she didn't look like someone who was getting married that day. Quite frankly, she looked like someone who's best friend had just died. She was supposed to be happy, she was getting married, but something kept weighing on her mind.

She hadn't known Brad for that long, only about seven months. Her father had practically pushed her into the relationship, and while she would admit he was fun to be around, she didn't know if she loved him. Not liked she loved...no she wouldn't think of him now, it would do her no good.

Yet, she couldn't stop thinking about him. At the least expected moments he would pop into her brain and she would think about all the good times they had together. And she had to admit there were a lot of good times. Sometimes she didn't know why she had left him. Sometimes she had the urge to go back to him, to run into his awaiting arms, but she didn't know if they were open to her any longer.

She barely saw him anymore anyway; he shouldn't have such a bearing on her mind. They really only saw each other when he came to pick up the kids, and sometimes he wouldn't even come up to the house, opting to just wait outside. It hurt her to think he didn't want to see her, at the very least because she was the mother of his children.

If she was honest with herself, she knew that she was still in love with Chris, that she still wanted him. But if that thought would creep into her mind, she would push it back, deciding that it wasn't the time to think about things like that. And this was one of those times. She should be concentrating on getting ready for her wedding, not her ex-husband.

But she still missed him.

She couldn't resist the urge to open the photo album that she kept in her nightstand next to her bed. There were pictures of the two of them, back when they were still dating, up until their son had been born. The pictures were full of smiles, of laughing faces. She didn't know why she kept pictures of him so close to her; maybe it was to feel like a part of him would always be near to her, she didn't know.

Her mother was knocking at the door, asking if she was up yet. She quickly put the pictures away, and resumed getting ready. It was no use looking at the past now, she just had to look to the future, and what lie ahead for her.

She put on her dress, and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't look bad for someone who'd had three kids. The dress was simple, it was her third wedding, she didn't need to be so formally dressed. She began to put on her makeup when her eyes fell on the piece of jewelry in her jewelry box.

It was her wedding ring, the one he gave her on that day so long ago. And in that moment she made a decision. She scribbled a note, and left the room.

Stephanie ran out of the room, and down the stairs. She frantically searched for her mother, finally finding her in the kitchen.

"Mom, can you watch the kids for me, I have to go somewhere," Stephanie said urgently.

"Where are you going? Did you forget something for the wedding?"

"No, I forgot something more important, I forgot about love. Could you give this to Brad for me?" And with that Stephanie handed her a note and left the house, leaving a stunned Linda behind.

Stephanie sat impatiently on the plane, aware that she was probably receiving a few stares from her fellow passengers, but she didn't care. She had to get to him, to see him, and tell him the truth. She sighed in relief, glad that she had realized the truth before she made a huge mistake.

She hoped that he would listen to her, at least let her explain. She didn't know what she would do if he wouldn't listen, she hadn't thought that far ahead yet. All her mind had comprehended was the fact that she needed to get to him. It was like movies with happy endings, what exactly happened after them, no one thought that through, and now she was more nervous than ever.

She paid the taxi, and walked up to his front door, formerly their front door. She didn't know what to expect on the other side, but she knew that she had to do this, had to find out. She took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell. No answer. She rang the doorbell again. Again there was no answer. Oh God, what if he wasn't here, what if she had come all this way, and he was out somewhere, possibly with a woman?

She kept ringing the doorbell hoping that he was home, and he just couldn't hear the bell. She would stay here until he came to the door; she wasn't going to leave without talking to him. Suddenly she heard his voice, yelling that he was coming. She was so glad he was there, and not out somewhere with God knows whom.

He opened the door and she could see he was still in his pajamas, and he looked terrible. The look of shock on his face didn't go unnoticed by her, nor did the look of disbelief that followed it. She knew he was probably wondering what the hell she was doing here, when she was supposed to be getting married. He was the first one to break the silence.

"Stephanie," he said in utter shock.

"Hi Chris."


	3. Landslide

Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me, they belong to themselves, their gimmicks belong to Vince McMahon and WWE. Based around the song "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac.

**To read the original version with song lyrics go to: bitter-solemnity. com /fics /IBLYTL.php (just get rid of the spaces).**

Distribution: If you want it, ASK. Don't just take it and post it somewhere.

Summary: The conclusion. Find out what happens when Stephanie and Chris confront each other.

A/N: Thank you to all that reviewed, and will review my fic. Thanks for taking time to actually respond. I appreciate it.

* * *

"Stephanie."

"Hi Chris."

They both stood there awkwardly, wild thoughts running through both of their minds. Jericho was shocked to see her standing there, while Stephanie's mind was racing thinking of what she could possibly say to make him understand. After a few moments that seemed to stretch on for an eternity, Jericho broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Steph, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be getting married," Jericho said, a haze of confusion still surrounding him.

"I-I couldn't do it," Stephanie said, voice quivering, "I woke up this morning, and I realized I couldn't marry him, I just couldn't."

Jericho stood stunned, he didn't know how to respond to that, so many different thoughts and feelings raced through his mind, trying to decide which one was right. He was a mixture of elation, worry, fear, and relief.

"Why?" was the simple response he managed to utter.

"Like I said-"

"No, not why did you decide not to marry him, why are you here?" he said cutting her off.

"Because I had to tell you something, I needed to make you understand. I needed you to listen."

"I'm listening," Jericho said crossing his arms, and leaning in the doorway. She was still outside on the step. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she spoke again.

"I love you, I'm still in love with you. I never stopped loving you really, I just thought I had. I woke up this morning and I had dreamed about you last night, about us, and I tried to push those thoughts out of my head, but they kept coming back, and I realized it was because I'm still in love with you," Stephanie explained in one breath. She hung her head down afraid to see Jericho's reaction.

"If you loved me so much, then why did you leave me? Why did you walk out on our marriage?" Jericho asked defensively, "If I mean so much to you, how could you stomp all over my heart?"

"I'm so sorry Chris, I wish I could take it all back, I wish I hadn't made such foolish choices, but I did, and I can't change that," Stephanie said with remorse, looking up at him.

"That still doesn't answer the question Stephanie."

"I thought I didn't love you anymore...I thought you didn't love me," Stephanie said letting her gaze drop to the ground.

"Not love you? How could you say that, I loved you more than life itself."

"I thought we were in a rut, a stalemate. I thought that we had simply fallen into a routine, day in and day out pretending to love each other, pretending to care-"

"I never pretended with you!" Jericho said angrily, Stephanie sighed deeply.

"I know that! Ok, I know that now! I made a mistake, I didn't realize what it really was..." her voice trailed off.

"And what was it?"

"Contentment," Stephanie said with a soft smile on her face, her gaze going off into the past, thinking about how it used to be, "I didn't realize that it was pure happiness. I mistakenly thought we were in a rut, but we weren't, we were...perfect."

"Perfect?"

"Yeah, perfect. We were so good together Chris, so right for each other. I'm such an idiot for leaving that behind."

"Yeah, you are," Jericho said his lips turning up into a very small smile.

"I just wanted to come here, and tell you, to get it off my chest."

"Thank you, I really needed to hear that," Jericho said sincerely.

"Yeah?"

"For the longest time I didn't know why you left me, what I did that was so wrong you wanted to end what we had. I didn't know why you stopped loving me," Jericho said shaking his head as if to clear his head of such thoughts, "I'm glad we're finally able to put the past behind us, and maybe finally I can get on with my life."

"Oh," Stephanie tried to hide her disappointment when Jericho had said he was finally able to move on with HIS life. Some part of her still hoped there could be a life together for the two of them.

"What's wrong?" Jericho looked at her imploringly.

"Nothing."

"Don't try to lie to me Stephanie, I know that something's wrong, now tell me."

"Chris, it doesn't matter, ok, I was just thinking about something, it's not important really," Stephanie said unconvincingly. Jericho took her chin in his hand and turned her face towards his. She blushed under his close scrutiny of her face, and she could see something in his eyes, but she didn't dare hope that it could be love.

"Stephy, tell me," Jericho said using his old nickname for her. Stephanie still got a tingle of excitement whenever he called her Stephy. She didn't want to admit the truth to him though; she was so embarrassed to feel this way. She loved a man who didn't love her, and would never love her again. But as she stared in his eyes, she couldn't help but let the truth out, no matter how damaging his reaction would be to her. He took his hand off her chin, but she could still feel the warmth of his touch on her face.

"I, um, I was just hoping that there would be an, um, us somewhere in there," Stephanie stuttered out, tears welling in her eyes.

Jericho looked at her in shock, wondering if he had heard right. She wanted to be with him again. She wanted to be a family again. His mind conjured up thoughts of their future together, and how good that sounded, a future together. He thought he was dreaming, this was way to good to be true, had Stephanie really just said that she wanted to be together again? Even in his wildest dreams, he never could have imagined a more perfect moment.

Stephanie looked at him, and couldn't decipher his emotions. He stood silently for a few minutes, and she took that as a rejection. She angrily brushed away a tear that managed to escape from her eye. Of course he wouldn't want her back, she had been the one to leave him, the one to file for divorce. He had so many reasons to not want her back, so much justification for simply slamming the door in her face. She took a deep breath, and forced herself to say the next words.

"Um, I guess that means a no," Stephanie started, her voice unsteady, "I, uh, just needed you to know I still loved you, and I guess it was stupid of me to think that you would forgive me. You have every right to turn me away, I was wrong on so many levels, and what I did transcends stupidity. So, I guess I'll be leaving now, cause everyone is probably wondering where the hell I am, and I really shouldn't be away for too long," she concluded before turning to walk away, so he wouldn't have to see the tears that were now falling freely from her eyes.

Jericho stood there digesting what she had just said. Wait, he hadn't rejected her, but she thought he had. Would the confusion of his life ever end?

"Stay," he called out.

Stephanie froze. She didn't dare turn around. Had he just asked her to stay? Maybe she hadn't heard him correctly or something.

"What?" she asked, still refusing to face him.

"I said stay."

She slowly turned around and looked at him through teary eyes. He hadn't rejected her! He still wanted her. He opened his arms to her, and she ran to him without hesitation. He engulfed her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, not caring that he was holding her too tight, just happy that she was in his arms again. She had missed this so much, and she hadn't even realized it. In that moment she knew that she was home.

Jericho hadn't dared hope this moment would come, and now that it had arrived, he was still surprised beyond words. She had come back to him. She was in his arms, and it was like a dream come true. No, it was better than a dream come true, it was reality. He embraced her even tighter, letting his head rest on top of hers.

They stayed like that for a few moments longer, just reveling in each other's touch. When they finally broke apart, Jericho smiled down at her. She returned the smile just as enthusiastically.

"So was this your wedding dress?" he asked, looking down at her simple off- white sundress.

"Yeah," she said with a laugh, looking down at it herself.

"You look beautiful." She blushed, before taking in the wrinkled pajamas he was wearing.

"You look awful," she said smirking at him.

"Hey, the love of my life was getting married today, did you expect me to look good?" Jericho said with a chuckle, Stephanie giggled at him, "So where exactly are our kids?"

"They're with my mom, we're going to have to tell them about all of this you know."

"Who? The kids or your parents?" Jericho said winking at her.

"Both, I suppose."

"You know who's going to have a good time rubbing this in our face don't you?" Jericho looked at her.

"Oh God, Kurt is going to have a field day with this," Stephanie said shaking her head.

"Eh, we'll deal with it," Jericho said pressing his lips on hers in a passionate kiss. Stephanie had missed this so much, and responded hungrily. He pulled her into the house, and shut the door behind him.

And so they lived. Maybe not happily, maybe not ever after, but the fact remains that they lived. Oh, and Kurt gloated for about two months.

THE END

A/N: Corny? Probably. Sappy? You betcha. Would I have it any other way? Absolutely not. Like the Beatles song "Hey Jude" says, 'Take a sad song and make it better' and that's just what I did, I took a sad story and made it better. Hope you enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	4. Epilogue

~1 year later~  
  
It was a warm summer evening in Florida, the end to a perfect day. And the Irvine family was taking full advantage of it. Jericho was busy trying to figure out their new barbeque while his two daughters splashed around in the pool having a good time. He smiled at their antics.  
  
He looked over to his wife, Stephanie, who was busy occupying their now three-year-old son. They were currently sitting on the patio finger painting, and generally making a mess of things. Jericho laughed at them and Stephanie looked up and smiled at him. He smiled back, and thanked God that she had walked back into his life a year ago.  
  
~1 year earlier~  
  
Stephanie sighed in content as she laid her head down on Jericho's bare chest. She felt like staying in his embrace forever, laying with him forever. Her world was finally perfect again, and this time it was eternally.  
  
Jericho stroked her hair, as he thought about the events that had just transpired. She had actually come back to him. He never thought in a million years, that on the day which he had at first thought would be the worst day of his life, would suddenly turn into one of the best days of his life. He thought he would have to suffer thinking Stephanie was getting married, but instead she was here in his arms. A crazy thought passed through his mind.  
  
"Steph?" Jericho asked, looking down at her.  
  
"Yeah," she said turning her head up towards his so she could see his face.  
  
"Let's get married."  
  
"What? Like right now?" Stephanie inquired confused.  
  
"Yeah, right now, let's get re-married."  
  
"B-but, where are we going to get married, and what about our families, and the kids?"  
  
"Let's go to Vegas, and just get married in one of those little chapels, we don't need our families, they've already seen us get married once, and the kids don't really have to be there," Jericho said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.  
  
"Chris, don't you think that maybe we should wait though, I mean we just got back together," Stephanie said with uncertainty.  
  
"Stephy, I love you, I hope you love me too."  
  
"I do love you Chris, but I don't want you to regret anything, and what if we do get married, and you realize you made a mistake taking me back, and you get scared that I'll leave you again?"  
  
"That's a risk I'm just going to have to take," Jericho said kissing the top of her head, "And besides, I'll never regret being with you, that's just not possible."  
  
"So you really wanna do this?" Stephanie said searching his eyes for his answer.  
  
"I really do," Jericho said seriously, "Can't you be impulsive for once in your life," he said laughing.  
  
"Hey, I left my wedding to come be with you, if that's not impulsive, I don't know what is."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right, so what's the verdict?"  
  
"Well, if you really want to, I'm sorry, but my answer is...yes," she replied with a satisfied smirk.  
  
Jericho's eye lit up, and he gathered her up in his arms, and kissed her with all his might. She returned it every bit as sincerely. They got out of bed, and put their clothes back on.  
  
"Chris, I don't have anything with me, except what I have on," Stephanie said pouting.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll get you clothes in Vegas, let me just get packed, ok?"  
  
"Ok. And Chris?"  
  
"Yeah," he said looking at her.  
  
"Can we not get married at the Little White Chapel?" (A/N: Where HHH & Steph got "married")  
  
"Sure," Jericho said laughing, knowing exactly why she didn't want to go there.  
  
-Several Hours Later in Vegas-  
  
"By the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."  
  
Jericho leaned in and kissed Stephanie, and they pulled away with big grins on their faces. They were finally starting their new lives together, and they knew their entire future lie ahead of them, and they would once again be sharing it together.  
  
~Back to the present~  
  
Stephanie remembered that day, and all the days that had followed after that. Their families had been surprised that they had gotten back together, but more shocked by their announcement of marriage. In the end though they were happy for them, and admitted to Chris and her that they always thought the two of them had been a better match.  
  
The kids had of course been ecstatic by the news that Daddy would be living with them again. With the exception of Gwynn, they hadn't understood what divorced meant anyway, just knew that Daddy was living somewhere else. Stephanie and the kids had moved back to Florida, and to the house the kids knew best.  
  
Their friends had been pretty much stunned by the news, with the exception of Kurt. They tried to avoid Kurt as much as possible, seeing as how whenever he saw them he would bring up the fact that he knew all along they would get back together. They both liked Kurt a lot, but after a while, they didn't need to hear how right he was. Sometimes, even now, a year later, Kurt would bring up how right he had been.  
  
Oh, and Brad, well, she saw him once after the aborted wedding, and that was only to give him her engagement ring back. She didn't really care what happened to him, not that she was trying to be mean, but she really couldn't bring it to herself to care, not once she made her decision to leave her wedding behind and go back to Chris.  
  
They were so happy now, and she couldn't ever remember a time where she was happier. She finally had her family back, and she knew this time it was for keeps. It hadn't been awkward at all when they got back together. It was like no time had passed, no divorce had been had. Her only regret was that she had divorced him in the first place, but she was over that now, and knew that she couldn't change the past, just look to the future.  
  
While Chris Jr. was busy finger painting, Stephanie wiped her hands, lifted herself out of her chair, and walked over to Jericho. He was still trying to figure out the new barbeque they had just bought, every so often looking at his daughters, making sure they were staying out of trouble. She wrapped her arm around his, and put her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Have you figured that thing out yet?" Stephanie said, looking from the grill to him.  
  
"Um, yeah I think so, it's just all these new found gadgets today, have to figure them all out."  
  
"Well good luck."  
  
"Daddy, Mommy watch!" their daughter Gwynn called out, before doing a cannonball into the pool.  
  
"Wow, that was really great Gwynn," Jericho said to his daughter.  
  
"Yeah, I'm impressed," Stephanie, added. She looked back at Jericho and laughed.  
  
"So are you going to cook anything or what?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Whoa, aren't we a little impatient," Jericho said with a knowing smirk.  
  
"Hey, I am eating for two here," Stephanie said sardonically.  
  
"How could I forget?" Jericho said looking at her bulging stomach, bulging because she was seven months pregnant with their fourth child.  
  
Stephanie put a hand on her pronounced middle and laughed at him, as he leaned in to kiss her. Suddenly, as she was mid-kiss, she felt a tugging on her pants, and she looked down at her son who was showing off his newest finger painting proudly.  
  
"Mama, for you," he said, then smiled his little smile, which looked entirely too much like his father's.  
  
"It's beautiful Chrissy, I love it," Stephanie said with a smile.  
  
"Why don't you tell us about it," Jericho told his son.  
  
"It me, Mama, you, Gwynny, and Rory," he said pointing to a different figure each time he said a name.  
  
Stephanie got a tear in her eye, as he explained the picture to them. She felt Chris's arm wrap around her waist, and she leaned against him. They both didn't know why they deserved such happiness, but they didn't question it. They simply thanked whoever was in charge for what they had, and smiled.  
  
THE END  
  
A/N: Now didn't that give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside? Well, it did to me, so I hope it did to you. It was totally sappy, but hey, any happy ending is a good ending. And be sure to be on the look out for the prequel I'm planning to write for this. :) 


End file.
